Walk-Alone
"Walk-Alone" is the fourth episode of Miami Vice's third season. The episode premiered on October 17, 1986. Summary Tubbs goes undercover inside state prison to find and stop a group of corrupt guards running a cocaine ring. Plot Tubbs is between the sheets with Laura, his current girl, when he leaves to go to work, singing and happy. He gets a call to meet up with Laura at a bar, there is a man (Frank Cassini) wanting to deal three keys of cocaine to Carlo Amati, who was set up by Izzy. Amati and a heavy stop in to meet with the dealer, Amati pulls out a gun, says "This is for my brother" and shoots the dealer, who returns fire, Amati is hit but survives, the dealer and heavy are dead, but Laura was hit as well and is also dead. After the shooting they find the dealer was Ralph Pink, a guard at Bolton State Prison. Switek and Zito go to Raoul's bar where a male strip show is going on, and Izzy is one of the strippers. Izzy mentions Amati wanted to meet with Pink because Amati's brother is in Bolton Prison and Amati wanted Pink to cut him some slack. Tubbs is having difficulty dealing with Laura's murder, but has been reviewing files and found that Amati's brother, along with ten other dealers, have all been killed at Bolton prison in the current year, no reports filed, and the only witnesses were other inmates and prison guards. Castillo calls Crockett and Tubbs up to the hospital and meet with Prison Commissioner John Rugar (Ron Perlman), who confirms Tubbs' suspicions about the guards at Bolton--that they are leaning on the traffickers and if any of them don't deliver, they're killed. The drugs get in through routine means (conjugal visits, delivery trucks, etc.) and sold inside or outside (as in the case of Pink). Rugar can't make a case because no one will cooperate (or risk being killed). All of the dead dealers were killed in "D" block, guarded by a man named Fox (Kevin Conway). Castillo and Rugar want to send in a police officer with limited street visibility to "break the chain" and end the corruption. Tubbs volunteers, though Crockett is concerned he's letting his hidden grief over Laura's death take over. Rugar can build a cover in 45 minutes that's so solid, a simple traffic ticket will send Tubbs to jail. Back at OCB, despite Crockett's objections, Castillo allows Tubbs to go, provided he gets out in two days if no one hits on him. Switek and Zito go to see Carl (Michael Earl Reid), a man with a "brother" Samson in Bolton, and the police are willing to reduce time before his next parole hearing if he cooperates. He fills them in on the gang situation (Aryan Sons, Muslim Brotherhood--who Samson currently runs--etc.) and that "Hammer", who runs the Aryans, is the one with the deal made with the guards leaning on the dealers, and agrees to cooperate. Tubbs (as Cubera) speeds on a Miami highway, is arrested and taken to Bolton, where he's stripped, fingerprinted, has his mug shot taken, and assigned to "D" block, where he is already encountering trouble from the Aryans, until the Muslim Brotherhood intervenes on his behalf. Tubbs is assigned kitchen duty, when he is brutally attacked by the Aryans, then Prison Guard Keller (Larry Fishburne) tells Tubbs he can be killed on a whim by the tower or the Aryans, or he can provide two kilos of cocaine. Tubbs says he doesn't give anybody anything and Keller sends him back to the "jungle". A Puerto Rican prisoner named Lazarus begs Tubbs for a kilo of cocaine to save his life, Tubbs tells him to get lost, when he goes into his cell Hammer's comb is on his bed. Hammer tells him he won't be back in his cell to give it to him. Fox and Keller are reviewing Tubbs' file, and that Keller set him up with Hammer. Out in the yard, Lazarus tells Tubbs the tower guards work for Fox and that they will shoot him down for any reason. Hammer goes after Tubbs again, Samson again confronts Hammer but is shot down by the tower guard, then Keller sends for Tubbs to see Fox, who offers 40% of the take on all drugs through the prison. Fox wants 60%, then Tubbs offers 50% with "amenities" (own cell, food, woman and protection), and he can start it with one phone call. Fox agrees to two keys. Tubbs calls OCB to set up the deal (and let them know what's going on). They take Tubbs to his private cell, only to find Lazarus hung there. Keller tells Tubbs they'll "clean it up in a jiffy". Switek drives to the prison to take Trudy for a "conjugal visit" with Tubbs, and to bring him the drugs. After Tubbs "yells" at Trudy that she's been unfaithful, she storms out. Keller takes the drugs out of the prison, then Switek takes Tubbs' luxury items to the guards. However, Carl spots him at the front gate and blows Tubbs' cover (because Samson was killed). While Castillo makes plans to pull Tubbs out, Fox confronts Tubbs about the fact he's a cop, and is badly beaten. Crockett meets with Keller and is busted. Castillo volunteers to go into jail to get Tubbs out before the guards kill him. Castillo is given a bullet proof vest and gets into jail, but Keller leaves Castillo behind so he orders everyone in. Castillo manages to bust into the kitchen, and shoots a propane tank, distracting the guards and the inmates scatter through the yard. The tower guards shoot the guard holding Tubbs, Castillo is also hit but the vest protects him, and he kills both tower guards. The police bust everyone at the front gate, and they head inside. Castillo, protecting Tubbs, orders all inmates down, Keller grabs a rifle and heads to the yard, he's caught by Tubbs who proceeds to give him a beatdown, then the door opens, Fox and Hammer are carried out by the Brotherhood and are beaten to death. Switek and Rugar enter the yard, Switek firing warning shots and Rugar orders everyone to freeze and back off, and they get Castillo and Tubbs out safely. Cast *Don Johnson as Metro-Dade Detective James "Sonny" Crockett *Philip Michael Thomas as Metro-Dade Detective Ricardo "Rico" Tubbs *Saundra Santiago as Metro-Dade Detective Gina Calabrese *Michael Talbott as Metro-Dade Detective Stan Switek *John Diehl as Metro-Dade Detective Larry Zito *Olivia Brown as Metro-Dade Detective Trudy Joplin *Edward James Olmos as Metro-Dade Lieutenant Martin "Marty" Castillo Guest Stars *Kevin Conway as Commander Fox *Ron Perlman as Prison Commissioner John Rugar *Frank Cassini as Ralph Pink *Michael Earl Reid as Carl *Larry Fishburne as Keller *Martin Ferrero as Izzy Moreno Co-Starring *Richard St. George as Lazarus *Jim Kiick as Short Con *A. J. Duhe as Hammer *Lawrence Kennedy as Hizzorer *John Corker as Samson *Dalton Cathey as Ruzik *W. Paul Bodie as Tough Guy Notes * A. J. Duhe (Hammer) and Jim Kiick (inmate) both played for the Miami Dolphins, Duhe played in Super Bowl XVII and Kiick played in Super Bowls VI, VII (the undefeated season) and VIII. * The final five minutes of this episode (when Castillo gets Tubbs out of prison to the music of "In Dulce Decorum") are considered by many the best ending of the third season. * Tubbs had somewhat better luck with the ladies than Crockett, but even his girlfriend was sadly killed in this episode, much like Crockett's Sara Davis and Caitlin Davies. * Jan Hammer's music used in "Sons and Lovers" (during the Calderone standoff) is used in the scenes involving Tubbs in prison and Castillo when they make plans to get into prison to get Tubbs out. * In a minor continuity error, during the final scene where Tubbs is led to the yard in one portion Tubbs looks normal and then looks badly beaten and bloodied in the next shot. Also Samson is standing behind him in the shot, after being killed earlier in the episode, it's possible the shot was lifted from before Samson's death. * In a real situation, Castillo would have likely been hit by Laurence Fishburne's shotgun blast when Tubbs jumps on him, as in the previous scene it shows him standing where the blast goes. Music *"Listen Like Thieves" by INXS (Opening sequence in bar) *"Walk This Way" by Run-D.M.C. (at male strip club) *"Gear Jammer" by George Thorogood & The Destroyers (Tubbs gets arrested while speeding) *"In Dulce Decorum" by The Damned (Tubbs taken to jail and end sequence where Castillo gets Tubbs out of jail) Quotes *"When you're under--''especially'' in the joint, you have to be cold, and you're not even cool - You're red hot, Pal" -- Crockett to Tubbs after Tubbs volunteered to go into prison '' *"At least they got a jury of their own peers!" -- ''Tubbs after Fox and Hammer are beaten to death by inmates Category:Miami Vice Season 3 Episodes